THE former boss of a global footwear giant is leading the recovery of a crisis-hit camping supplier.

Following a torrid 2011, in which Porthmadog-based clothing and equipment business Gelert axed 59 staff, a new team has been put in place to turn the ailing firm’s fortunes around.

Speaking exclusively to Business Post, chairman Alan Fort says they plan to “move on” from a difficult year.

Gelert closed its cycling division, lost a major customer - among its 1,600 UK accounts are names such as Argos, Asda and Halfords - and relocated most of the business to its Widnes HQ.

The company now employs just 15 people at its £4.5million Gwynedd HQ but Alan is confident the brand will rise from the ashes.

He is already in rebuilding mode, appointing a new management team, led by former K-Swiss CEO Steve Bracewell

“For 37 years Gelert has been making some of the best value equipment in the industry but we expanded into areas that were not our core strength and the business suffered both in our profitability and our standards of service,” said Alan.

“We’re back now, to doing what Gelert has always done best, make great quality family camping products and working with our customers to bring interesting design and innovation to the market.

“It has been a difficult time, with most of our problems self-inflicted, but with a new team at the top and a renewed focus on improving service levels, building brands and European expansion, there is a clear path back to profitability.”

Mr Bracewell, the man credited with growing the K-Swiss brand from a £3million niche footwear provider to a £100million consumer brand, will be backed up by a new business development team, recruited from within the outdoors and leisure sector.

Gelert announced last September it would be moving its distribution services to Widnes in Merseyside to improve on efficiency, following the loss of the key contract.

At a later meeting of Porthmadog Town Council, Cllr Jason Humphreys said the cull of dozens of permanent and many more casual staff had been a blow to the community, and called for the Welsh Government and Gwynedd County Council to offer assistance to the out of work staff – and to look at how to help rural SMEs stay competitive with initiatives like fuel and rate relief. Gelert had employed up to 178 people throughout the UK, with shops in Porthmadog, Beddgelert and Dinas near Caernarfon, as well as outlets in Dublin, Holland and Shanghai. The business was established in Bryncir in 1970 before moving to Beddgelert and then Porthmadog.

In 2010 it had a £47m turnover.

Alan is hopeful Gelert will return to those glory days, but admits it will take hard work.

“2012 will continue to be a challenging year as we rebuild trust with our consumer base and improve our service levels but, having seen the fantastic support from our staff, customers, the bank and Gwynedd County Council, I have no doubt that we will get there,” he added.